The present invention relates to a fastening arrangement to facilitate installation of components in a vehicle during mass production of the vehicles, and in particular to an arrangement which permits quick installation but later removal such as for servicing.
Vehicle manufacturers continue to search for ways to install components in the most time effective manner. One such method is to construct components that can be snapped into place. However, this has been met with some resistance on the basis that components that can be easily snapped in place also tend to easily fall out, causing increased warranty and customer dissatisfaction. At the same time, components that are hard to snap in place cause assembly problems, and further cause problems such as part breakage when an attempt is made to unsnap them for servicing. These problems are particularly prevalent over a large production run wherein all part variations and combinations of tolerances of the attaching arrangement must be securely attachable with a minimum of force, but which also must be made releasable for servicing same. Further, the arrangement must provide for secure reattachment of the component after servicing, preferably without the need for additional or new parts. Further in the case of a headliner, it is desirable to provide a part that is substantially complete as installed and does not require additional trim pieces to cover up edges of the headliner.
Thus, a fastening arrangement is desired which will provide quick assembly and secure retention under typical part dimensional variations and combinations, yet will permit later detachment for servicing and reattachment thereafter. Also, a headliner is desired which incorporates and takes full advantage of the fastening arrangement.